Chromosomal assignment of equine genes involved in the development of skeletal, gastrointestinal, cardiovascular and nervous system

Chromosomal assignment of R-spondin genes in the donkey (Equus asinus, 2n = 62)

R-spondins constitute a recently discovered small family of growth factors, and the evidence of their role in several developmental pathways is growing fast. In this work we describe the chromosomal location of the four RSPO genes in the donkey. Using horse BACs, we localized RSPO1 on EAS 5q23, RSPO2 on EAS 12q13, RSPO3 on EAS 24q26, and RSPO4 on EAS 15p13. Moreover, RSPO2, RSPO3, and RSPO4 are the first genes mapped on donkey chromosomes 12, 24, and 15, respectively.

FISH mapping of six genes responsible for development of the nervous and skeletal systems on donkey (Equus asinus) chromosomes

The results obtained in the present study made it possible to place selected markers responsible for development of the nervous and skeletal systems on the physical map of the donkey genome. Fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) was used to localize genes such as GDF5 (15q13), FRZB (4q23.1), TWIST (1q31), PAX6 (20q25), SALL1 (24q15) and SHH (1q35) on donkey chromosomes. The identification of their localization confirmed previously proposed homologies using ZOO-FISH technique, except for FRZB and SALL1 genes. This suggests that they were affected by rearrangements that changed their localization compared to horse, and in the case of the SALL1 gene also compared to human.